Friends and Family Remember Police Officer Michael Perry who Died in the Line of Duty

The wake for Michael Perry, the White Plains police officer who died of a heart attack Saturday afternoon after chasing and arresting a theft suspect, was held today as hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Detective yesterday.

Carolyn Carraher-Lynch, who graduated from Mahopac High School with Perry in 1986, said although she has not seen him in a while, she remembers him.

"He's a really great guy," she said, visibly shaken.

White Plains officer Jeanett Parra has known Perry for five years and described him as a man who loved his job and someone who would give the shirt off of his back.

"I'm really going to miss him," she said. "It's a great loss for our department. We're at a loss for words."

White Plains police officer David Camacho first met Perry 10 years ago at the police academy. He said the whole department is shocked and stunned by the sudden death.

"He was committed to his profession, to his family and his faith," Putnam County Sheriff Don Smith said.

Sheriff Smith described Perry as a compassionate person, who wanted to be a police officer since he was a child. Detective Perry was concerned about the police officers were laid off at his department, and wanted to make sure that they get hired, Smith said. Perry's father Patrick Perry, a close friend of Smith's, used to work as an inspector general for the Putnam County Sheriff's office.

Detective Michael Perry, 43, leaves behind two six-year-old twin boys and his wife, Theresa.

Saturday afternoon he responded to a call from a detective at Macy's in the Galleria Mall in White Plains about a serial theft suspect, Rickey Pryor, 53. After Perry chased him on foot, he arrested him and the suspect was taken to police headquarters.

Then, Perry developed chest pains, an ambulance was called in and as he was walking to the ambulance, he collapsed. He was pronounced dead a little over an hour after the chase. He is the first officer to die in the line-of-duty for the Department in more than 60 years.

Pryor, 53, is a career criminal with more than 300 arrests, mostly on minor drug and theft charges in New York City.

"The guy shouldn't be out on the streets," said Lt. Robert Noble, patrol division commander for the Yorktown Police Department.

Lt. Noble said police officers are on duty near the Clark Funeral Home in Yorktown Heights and at crucial intersections ensuring the safety of motorists and pedestrians.

The department also provided a shuttle service that would pick up people, who want to pay their respects, at the Triangle Shopping Center and drop them off at the funeral home.

More than 2,000 people are expected for Perry's funeral tomorrow at the New St. Patrick's Church scheduled for 10 a.m. His burial will take place in Hillside Cemetery in Cortlandt Manor following the service.